1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscopic form detection device including an endoscope configured to be inserted into a body cavity and a form detecting method of an inserting section of the endoscope.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, an endoscopic form detection device that can detect a form of an inserting section of an endoscope has been put to practical use. Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2000-175862 discloses an endoscope insertion form detection device including source coils disposed to an inserting section of an endoscope configured to be inserted into a body cavity. In this endoscope insertion form detection device, positions of the respective source coils are detected by a sense coil provided outside a body. Further, based on the detected positions of the source coils, a form of the inserting section of the endoscope is detected.
Furthermore, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2007-319622 discloses an endoscope device including two sensors disposed to an inserting section of an endoscope. In this endoscope device, a sensor on a proximal end side is determined as a reference, and a position and a posture of a sensor on a distal end side are detected. The sensor on the proximal end side is arranged near a proximal end of a bending section, and the sensor on the distal end side is arranged at a distal-end hard section. A bending angle and a bending direction of the bending section are calculated by detecting the position and the posture of the sensor on the distal end side with respect to the sensor on the proximal end side.
Further, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 11-19027 discloses an endoscopic form detection device including gyroscopes disposed to an inserting section of an endoscope. In this endoscopic form detection device, a posture in a predetermined region (a region to which the gyroscope is disposed) of the inserting section of the endoscope is detected by the gyroscope. Furthermore, a form of the inserting section is detected based on the detected posture in the predetermined region.